Refrigerating display counter



May 8, 1928.

` 1,668,939 T. S. BUFORD REFRIGERAT'ING DISPLAY col-INTER Filed June 12. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 8, 1928. 1,668,939

T. s. Bul-'ORD REFRIGERATING DI SPLAY COUNTERy Filed June 12. 192e 2 sheets-sheet 2 O ik 1k LNI 32 wvantoz Tufor'el vPatented May 8, 1928.

f UNITED STATES THOMAS s. BUFonn, or Jorian, MIssoUnI.

REFRIGERATING DISPLAY COUNTER.

Application led .Tune 12, 1926. Serial No. 115,595.

This invention relates to refrigerators and particularly to refrigerating display or show counters.

rThe general object of the present invention is to provide a display counter of this character particularly adapted for butchers and grocers, which is so constructed as to give a maximum display' ofl goods contained within the' refrigerator and at the same time a provide for thoroughly good circulation of the cold air around the goods.

Another object is to provide a construction of this .character which will not sweat.

A further object is to provide in a refrigerating display counterk of this character means forsupporting the ice which willperinit the ice to be` readily inserted within the icechamber or removed therefrom and which will permit a ready cleaning of all parts.

2U Other objects have to do with the details of construction and arrangement of parts to appear more fully hereinafter.

lily invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein if Figure 1 is a front elevation of a refrigerating display case constructed in'accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section; :io 1- is a section on theV line 1 -4 of Figure 3; f l y Fig. 5 vis a section` on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

big. 6 isa fragmentary horizontal section y shcwing means for holding the ice container .in adjusted position.

referring to these drawings 10 designates the base of the display counter, 11 the end walls, 12 the top wall, and 13 pilasters which extend upwardfro'm the base and the top wall at front` and rear, dividing the front and rear into three panels, as they may be termed. kOn the front of the display counter these three panels are filled each with a sheet of glass 14 and the top is provided with laterally disposed glass panels 14a. On the rear the middle panel is closed by two doors 15 and each lateral panel by a single refrigerator door 16. These doors are, of

course, made in the usual manner of re walls 17. These walls are cut away at their upper andlower ends' as at 18 to provide for the circulation of air. Thus, there are three main compartments within the display case designated A, E and C respectively, the compartment B being intended to receive ice, while the compartments A and C receive food. Disposed within the compartments' A and C are the shelves. which may be of any suitable number and which are supported in anyy suitable manner7 these shelves being Vpe'rfoiated to permit the passage of cold air7 and the shelvesbeing preferably formed of a single thickness of material such vas wood. These shelves may terminate short ofthe front of each compartment so as to igiermitfthe circulation of air or they may extend entirely across the compartment from front to rear and the circulation of air will be secured by the perforations in the shelves. Inward of the walls 111 provide vertically extending sheet metal plates 20, the forward and rear edges of `which are inwardly flanged and" attached to the end walls 117 these plates 2O being nearly as wide as'the lwidth of the end walls and nearlyras high as the end walls. These flanged plates constitute air ducts open at top and bottom land extending' down inward vof the side walls. n

The compartment B is unbroken by shelves and extends vertically preferably the full distance between the top 12 and the base l0'. Pivotally swung within this compartment B is the icev container or tank 21 which is mountedupon trunnions 22extend-V ing through the partition walls l17.y 4The lower end of this icecontainer is 4rounded so that the container in cross section from rfront to rear has preferably a Ulshape, the upper margins of the side walls being outwardly flared as at 23. The size and proportion of this .ice tank are such that it may be turned over upon its side and when so turned a side wall of the ice tank will be closely adjacent the base, that is the floor of the display case, the flange 23 in this case extending downward and outward over the margin of the floor and permitting the easy insertion yof a cake of ice into the ice tank or the removal of ice therefrom. This tank is provided with some ymeans permitting water to ydrip therefrom and to this end I provide a drip cock 24 in the bottom of the tank andk a drip cockk 25 spaced above the bottom of the tank to any desired extent. By meansof these fill the bottom of the ice chamber and from the drip pan 26 carried thereon and bottles of ginger ale, pop, or even vegetables may be kept in this space but, et course, will have to be removed in order to permit the ice tank to be turned to its discharge position. By turning the ice tank to its discharge position it may be very readily cleaned which is a very important factor in the management ot refrigerators, ln order to hold the ice tank in any desired tilted position l mount upon oneen'd Wall thereofA a lever 2? pivoted at 28 and this lever is notched at 29 at a plurality of peints, these notches being adapted to engage with the jamb ot the door frame and thus held the ice tank in any tilted position. Thus, the ice may be slipped into the ice tank when the latteris in a horizontal position or when the ice tank is tilted trom the vertical position and the notched lever or latch 2T will hold the tank under these circumstances.

It is to be particularly noted that the walls throughout, except the iront wall which is formed of closed panels, are all of solid material Vand in actual practice the counter should' be formed with 2 8, 2 10,011 2 l2 lumber and the walls should be formed of tongued and grooved material glued together and insulated with three ply reeling paper or other insulating material between the walls.

The base, as illustrated, is supported above the floor by a skirting board 30, which is cut away at 3l to receive a drip pan 'from which the drip trom pan QG may pass. lt is to be noticed Athat the floor of this display counter' is continuous Jfrom end to end and that the entire floor may be observed through the plate glass panels of the front walls. Preferably a metallic plate 33 having its endsupwardly bent is disposed against the top ot the ice chamberfB, this plate heilig perforated.l The purpose ot this plate 33 and of the plates 20 is to keep the Warm and cold air separated or, in other words, to cause circulation of the warm and cold air. The walls 17 which separate the ice compartment from the food compartments A and C are spaced at their middle portions from the top and bottom of the display counter' and these tivo walls cause a double circulation et the cold and warm air, the cold air 'following downward in the ice chamber and passing laterally into the toed chambers while the warmer air rises in the toed chamber and passes laterally into theice chamber where it again becomes cool.

lVhile I have illustrated a consl'iruction in y which a tank or other receptacle is provided `for ice or ice and salt, l do not wish to be limited to this as an ice machine can be installed within the ice compartment. Becauseof the simplicity ot its construction it is possible to build a display counter ot this character at a much less cost than other display counters.

I claim Y In a retrigerating display counter ot Vthe character described, anV ice compartment, vertical partition walls at the ends oi the same, the partition wallsbeing spaced at theiriupper and lower ends from the bottom and top ofthe ice compartment, an ice receptacle pivotally mounted on said partition walls, the receptacle being approximately li-shaped in cross section and open at the top and having its forward wall angularly disposed an d the pivotal axis for said ice receptacle being so disposed that the receptacle may be swung into a downwardly and outwardly inclined position or into a vertical position, and means for holding;` the receptacle in a vertical position or an angularly disposed position includingl a latch pivoted to one end wall ot the receptacle and havin;y ratchet notches engaging' with the door jamb.

In testimony *whereof l hereunto ailix my signature.

THOMAS S. BUFORD. 

